Railroad car with fluid side bearing antisway means

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an improved railroad freight car having means for minimizing sway of the car during movement over rails. The car has a side bearing walled structure between each wheel truck side frame and the car floor structure. Each walled structure defines an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing a fluid. The car has a conduit communicating with the enclosed chamber and a reservoir tank containing fluid under superatmospheric pressure. The conduit transports fluid from the chamber to the tank upon reduction in volume of the enclosed chamber due to increased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to that side, and transports fluid from the tank to the chamber upon increase of the chamber volume due to decreased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to the other side.

United States Patent Harter 1 March 6, 1973 1 RAILROAD CAR WITH FLUID SIDE 3,415,203 12 1968 Hughes et a1 ..105 199 BEARING ANTISWAY MEANS 3,417,711 l2/l968 Lich ..l05/l99 [75] Inventor: Lynn Hatter Hobart Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza [73] Assignee: Thrall Car Manufacturing Com- Assistant Examine -H0ward Beltran pany, Chicago Heights, 11], Attorney-Merriam, Marshall, Shapiro & Klose [22] Filed: June 12, 1969 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl'No': 832626 Disclosed is an improved railroad freight car having means for minimizing sway of the car during move- [52] U.S. C1. ,,105/164, 105/197 B, 105/199 R, ment over rails. The car has a side bearing walled 105/453 structure between each wheel truck side frame and [51] Int. Cl, B60 21/06, 3611 5/14, B611 5/24 the car floor structure. Each walled structure defines [58] Field of Search 1()5/164, 193, 197, 199, 215, an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing 21 105/197 R, 199 R, 453, 197 B fluid. The car has a conduit communicating with the enclosed chamber and a reservoir tank containing [56] References Cit d fluid under superatmospheric pressure. The conduit transports fluid from the chamber to the tank upon UNITED STATES PATENTS reduction in volume of the enclosed chamber due to 2,093,486 9 1937 Schoepf a a1. ..105 199 R increased Pressure the chamber thmugh swaying 2,095,677 10 1937 Schoepf et al. ..105 453 x the car body to that Side, and transports fluid from the 3,286,655 11 1966 Lich ..l05/199RX tank to th ha p ease of t ha 2,606,506 8/1952 Sloane.... ..105/164 volume due to decreased pressure on the chamber ,8 ,5 3 11/1958 Berry --l05/2l5 through swaying 0f the car body to the other side. 3,190,237 6/1965 Hurtner ....l05/l97 X 3,351,336 11/1967 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Blake ..l05/l99 X PATENTEUHAR 61m 3.719.152

} 11 29 10 in "HIJ I Ill "m arroeA/irs RAILROAD CAR WITH FLUID SIDE BEARING ANTISWAY MEANS This invention relates to railroad cars such as freight cars, coal cars and the like. More particularly, this invention is concerned with railroad cars or vehicles which have means to inhibit or restrict the swaying of the car body during travel on the rails.

Railroad cars or vehicles have long been known to sway unduly far laterally during travel when certain conditions of the rail bed or rate of speed is met. Thus, the staggered joint arrangement of rail sections induces swaying of railroad cars as they travel over the rails. This is because, in the area of the joint where the ends of two rails are abutted and connected by splice bars, there is a tendency for the rail to dip when subjected to the load applied by the car body to the wheels as they cross over the joint. Because of the staggered joint arrangement normally used in the left track or rail relative to the right track or rail, first the wheels on one side dip and shortly thereafter on the other side followed by a subsequent dipping of the' first side, thereby inducing swaying of the railroad car body.

Although slight to moderate swaying can be tolerated, excessively far and continuous swaying with maximum swing of the car body subjects the structural members of the body to undo stresses causing twisting and bending. Unless controlled, such swaying can lead to defects in the car body which will necessitate its being removed from service for repair or it could lead to dynamic destruction of the car. Furthermore, continuous swaying can create lateral forces sufficiently strong to cause the car wheels to be derailed and possibly cause a severe train wreck.

Swaying in modern railroad cars is more of a problem than it was in the smaller cars used ten or fifteen years ago. Modern cars, particularly freight cars, are of such length and height that they can be caused to leave the track much easier due to swaying than the smaller size cars. The higher center of gravity of modern cars during swaying leads to much higher forces which induce great stresses which can cause the structural members to fail, and forces which, unless controlled, could cause derailment of the car. There is, thus, needed suitable devices or equipment which can minimize or restrict the swaying of railroad cars during travel of the car in railroad service.

There is provided by the subject invention an improved railroad vehicle or car having means to restrict or minimize swaying of the car body during transportation. The anti-sway means is employed on a conventional railroad car or vehicle having a body with at least the floor structure mounted on a bolster of a wheel truck at each end of the floor structure and with each said wheel truck having two opposing side frames in which the axles containing the wheels are mounted. The means for minimizing sway, as incorporated in such a railroad vehicle, comprises at least four walled structures, one each of which is joined to each side frame and an adjacent portion of the vehicle body, each walled structure defining an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing a fluid, a conduit communicating with the enclosed chamber and a reservoir tank containing fluid under superatmospheric pressure, said conduit (a) transporting .fluid from the enclosed chamber to the tank upon reduction in volume of the enclosed chamber due to increased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the vehicle body to that side and (b) transporting fluid from the tank to the chamber upon increase of the chamber volume due to decreased pressure on the chamber through swaying of I the vehicle body to the other side. The swaying action creates a compressive force exerted between the vehicle floor and the wheel truck side frame on the side to which the car body sways. The compressive force causes fluid, usually a hydraulic liquid, to be expelled from the chamber at a controlled rate based on the pressure which is applied. The fluid flows to a reservoir tank, from which it can return to the chamber when compression is reduced, such as when the car body sways to the other side. Since the fluid in the reservoir tank is under pressure, the fluid will be forced back into the chamber upon reduction of compressive forces applied to the chamber.

The invention will now be described further in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the lower portion of one end of a railroad vehicle and shows a wheel truck arrangement having an anti-sway means mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the anti-sway means shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the anti-sway means of FIG. 2 in a highly compressed state; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view in schematic form of a railroad car having the anti-sway means mounted on each wheel truck side frame and joined to the vehicle body adjacent thereto.

So far as is practical, the same or similar elements which appear in the various views of the drawings will be identified by the same member.

With reference to FIG. 1, the railroad car 10 has a bodyincluding a car frame 11 which supports the floor. Wheel truck 12 has a side frame 13 on each side. Each side frame is supported by a pair of axles 14. Each axle 14 has a pair of wheels 15 mounted thereon which roll on rails 16. Each wheel truck has a bolster 17, the ends 18 of which are supported by coil springs 19 which have their lower ends mounted in side frame 13. The bolster is thus spring mounted in relation to the side frames to absorb shocks applied when the car travels on the tracks. The car frame 11 rests on bolster 17 in the usual manner.

Joined to each wheel truck side frame 13 and to body portion car frame 1 l of the railroad car is a side bearing walled structure 20 which defines an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing a fluid. While the walled structure could comprise a simple piston-cylinder arrangement, it is advisable to employ a walled structure in the form of a compressible cell 24 having flexible walls. Such a structure 20 is specifically shown in FIG. 1. The structure is shown more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3 and, therefore, will be described further with regard to those figures.

Mounted on the top of side frame 13 is friction plate 21 and on top of it is mounted another friction plate 22. The friction plates 21 and 22 are positioned so that they can slide with respect to one another. Friction plate 21 is welded to side plate 13. Friction plate 22 is slidably mounted on plate 21 so that it can move forward and backward with turning of the wheel truck. A

suitable lubricant is placed between plates 21 and 22 to facilitate such movement.

Compressible cell 24 has flexible walls such as of rubber or some other suitable elastic flexible polymeric material. If desired, it can be reinforced with cloth or other fibrous material to obtain added strength for the purpose of this invention. The bottom of cell 24 is provided with a metal cap 23 and the top of the cell 24 has metal cap 25. Friction plate 22 is fixedly joined to metal cap 23 so that they move in unison. Friction plate 22 is employed rather than to place metal cap 23 in contact with plate 21 because wear on metal cap 23 could necessitate disposal of the entire cell 24, whereas, when plate 22 becomes worn, it can be replaced and cell 24 reused.

Friction plate 26 is fixedly joined to top metal cap 25 and is also joined in fixed position to car frame 1 1.

Conduit 27 communicates with the internal space or chamber inside of compressible cell 24 so that fluid can be supplied thereto and removed therefrom. Conduit 27 also communicates with a reservoir tank which holds a supply of fluid under pressure. When force is applied on compressible cell 24 due to swaying action, it will be compressed, as shown in FIG. 3, and as it is compressed fluid will be forced through conduit 27 to the reservoir tank. When the compressive force is lowered or reduced, the fluid under pressure in the reservoir tank will be forced back into the chamber of compressible cell 24 and it will enlarge as shown in FIG. 2.

Although each of the compressible cells 24, or equivalent walled structures such as might otherwise be used, can have an individual reservoir tank associated therewith, it is generally advisable for each pair of compressible cells to communicate with a common reservoir tank. This makes for economy in constructing the anti-sway system of this invention. A pair of compressible cells can communicate with a common reservoir tank with one cell being on each side of the railroad vehicle, or with both compressible cells being on the same side of the vehicle.

It is generally advisable for the reservoir tank to be placed so that it has conduits feeding therefrom to a compressible cell mounted on each of the side frames on the same side of the vehicle. Such an arrangement is shown schematically in FIG. 4 where the compressible cells 30 and 31 are mounted on side frames on the same side of the vehicle, with each side frame being part of a wheel truck, one of which is at each end of the vehicle. Reservoir tank 32 has a conduit 33 communicating with compressible cell 30 and a conduit 34 communicating with compressible cell 31. The other side of the vehicle has a similar arrangement. Compressible cell 40 is mounted on a side frame of a wheel truck at one end of the car and compressible cell 41 is mounted on the side frame of a wheel truck at the other end of V the vehicle. Reservoir tank 42 has conduit 43 communicating with compressible cell 40 and conduit 44 communicating with compressible cell 41. Although the fluid which can be used in the described system can be "a gas, and particularly air, it is generally advisable that a cold climate, without becoming too viscous to operate. To maintain the liquid under pressure in reservoir tanks 32 and 42, they communicate respectively by conduits 35 and 45 with air tank 50 which is maintained under pressure by means of conduit 51 which communicates with the train air line 52 used for operating the brakes on the railroad car. The use of air tank 50 avoids pressure changes which could inadvertently actuate the train brakes.

With reference to FIG. 4, when the vehicle sways to side A, hydraulic liquid is expelled from compressible cells 30 and 31 at a controlled rate and is returned to reservoir tank 32. When the railroad car sways to the other side, side B, hydraulic liquid is expelled from compressible cells 40 and 41 and is returned to reservoir tank 42 while simultaneously hydraulic liquid is expelled from reservoir tank 32 to compressible cells 30 and 31 because of the higher pressure in tank 32 than the pressure in compressible cells 30 and 31 when swaying shifts to side B. As swaying goes from one side to the other, there is a similar transfer of hydraulic liquid at a controlled rate so as to absorb the compressive forces applied through such sway. The result is that swaying is very thoroughly minimized and, even in those instances where a rather large aptitude of sway might result, it is dampened and the effects on twisting in the car are greatly diminished, thus prolonging the life of the car and avoiding derailments due to excessive amplified sway.

It is an important feature of the invention to have the anti-sway device coupled from the wheel truck side frame to the car body structure. Since the wheels and axle are in relatively fixed position relative to the wheel truck side frame, the effect of compressive forces applied by'the car body are transferred through the compressible cell 24, as well as cells 30, 31, 40 and 41fto the railroad bed. If the anti-sway device was coupled from the car body to the bolster, very little control of swaying would be achieved.

Although one compressible cell will usually suffice on each wheel truck side frame, for a total of four on each car, it is feasible to use two or more on each wheel truck side frame.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railroad car having a body with at least a floor structure pivotally mounted on a center bearing supported by a bolster of a truck at each end of the floor structure, each said truck having two opposing rigid side frames in which axles containing wheels are mounted and said bolster is supported at each end by springs mounted in the side frames; the improvement for minimizing sway of the car during movement over rails comprising:

at least four walled structures, one each of which is joined to each truck side frame and adjacent portion of the car. body;

each walled structure defining an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing a fluid;

a conduit communicating with the enclosed chamber and a reservoir tank containing fluid under superatmospheric pressure, said conduit (a) transporting fluid from the enclosed chamber to the tank upon reduction in volume of the enclosed chamber due to increased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to that side and (b) transporting fluid from the tank to the chamber upon increase of the chamber volume due to decreased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to the other side.

2. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which each walled structure is a compressible cell with flexible walls.

tank for supplying air under pressure from the air tank to the reservoir tank.

5. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which the fluid is a liquid and superatmospheric pressure is applied to liquid in the reservoir tank by air.

6. A railroad car according to claim 1 having a car air line, a reservoir tank on each side of the car conduits communicating therefrom with at least two walled structures on the same side of the car, an air tank communicating with the car air line for receiving air under pressure therefrom and conduits communicating with the air tank and reservoir tanks for supplying air under pressure from the air tank to the reservoir tanks. 

1. In a railroad car having a body with at least a floor structure pivotally mounted on a center bearing supported by a bolster of a truck at each end of the floor structure, each said truck having two opposing rigid side frames in which axles containing wheels are mounted and said bolster is supported at each end by springs mounted in the side frames; the improvement for minimizing sway of the car during movement over rails comprising: at least four walled structures, one each of which is joined to each truck side frame and adjacent portion of the car body; each walled structure defining an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing a fluid; a conduit communicating with the enclosed chamber and a reservoir tank containing fluid under superatmospheric pressure, said conduit (a) transporting fluid from the enclosed chamber to the tank upon reduction in volume of the enclosed chamber due to increased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to that side and (b) transporting fluid from the tank to the chamber upon increase of the chamber volume due to decreased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to the other side.
 1. In a railroad car having a body with at least a floor structure pivotally mounted on a center bearing supported by a bolster of a truck at each end of the floor structure, each said truck having two opposing rigid side frames in which axles containing wheels are mounted and said bolster is supported at each end by springs mounted in the side frames; the improvement for minimizing sway of the car during movement over rails comprising: at least four walled structures, one each of which is joined to each truck side frame and adjacent portion of the car body; each walled structure defining an enclosed chamber of variable volume containing a fluid; a conduit communicating with the enclosed chamber and a reservoir tank containing fluid under superatmospheric pressure, said conduit (a) transporting fluid from the enclosed chamber to the tank upon reduction in volume of the enclosed chamber due to increased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to that side and (b) transporting fluid from the tank to the chamber upon increase of the chamber volume due to decreased pressure on the chamber through swaying of the car body to the other side.
 2. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which each walled structure is a compressible cell with flexible walls.
 3. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which a reservoir tank communicates with at least two walled structures.
 4. A railroad car according to claim 1 having a car air line, an air tank communicating with the car air line for receiving air under pressure therefrom and conduits communicating with the air tank and each reservoir tank for supplying air under pressure from the air tank to the reservoir tank.
 5. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which the fluid is a liquid and superatmospheric pressure is applied to liquid in the reservoir tank by air. 